How NOT to Flee a War is a live documentary by Ukrainian journalist Maria Romanenko, co-presented with her partner Jez Myers, telling the extraordinary story of their escape from Kyiv as Russia launched its full-scale invasion on 24 February 2022.

Through personal testimony, photographs and memories from the road, Maria and Jez take audiences inside the chaos of the first days of war - the explosions, uncertainty, misinformation, exhaustion and impossible decisions faced by civilians trying to survive.

Told with honesty, dark humour and compassion, How NOT to Flee a War is more than a story of escape. It is a powerful reflection on displacement, loss, resilience and what it means to bear witness to history.

Their experience has been shared at, or is scheduled to be shared at, Senedd, Holyrood, Greenbelt Festival, National Holocaust Museum, and has seen them selling out events at Aviva Studios in Manchester, Chester Festival of Ideas, and Newcastle Central Library.